never, never, never give up

So last week I got off a plane and struggled through the day and hauled myself to rehearsal, which was a good thing because the beginning of rehearsal was the Culling, when R gathered everyone who'd expressed interest in the semichorus and listened to them one by one.  I later overheard him discussing with the administratrix that he thought three on a part would be a good number, since the thing is a double quartet -- that's already 24 people, which is a fair-sized semichorus.  This is just for "He shall give His angels"; apparently they're getting kids and shoving them in the Great Choir for "Lift thine eyes", which is a shame, but will be lovely.

Then in rehearsal, he called down the people he's evidently settled on for "Holy, holy" -- he did say if any other altos wanted to give it a whirl, he was interested, but didn't we all agree the sopranos were terrific.  Which, don't get me wrong, they are -- but after rehearsal I was very very brave and went and said to him that when we'd first hit that movement, and I'd sight-read the part absolutely cold, I'd hoped to be considered for it, but if he'd made his decision I'd understand and back off, and he said Well, the thing is, something more "soloistic" (this is a word he uses a lot; the "-istic" suffix is one I hear from conductors, which seems funny to me, that they all use it), and your voice is more pure (this is the first choir I've ever been in where a pure, clear voice is apparently a detriment).  Anyway, I told him I'd sing it however he wanted, and he let me sing the top line with some altos who did want to give it a whirl, and I was at least satisfied that I'd got a crack at it in a way that wasn't a cold sight-reading, and of course he's going with the people he'd evidently settled on before, but I don't feel as disappointed by that now.

I was all set to be disappointed this evening, though, when on top of the fact that he's back to the other "Holy, holy" people, he asked some people to stay after so he could hear more of them w/r/t the "angels" semichorus, and I wasn't among the sopranos he called.  :-(  *pout*  I mean -- I'd more or less spent the day getting ready for that, because there were so many of us last week, and my particular one-by-one shot at the line he had us do wasn't the best (a) I could do or (b) in the room, and three on a part is like hardly anyone, so.  (And then I was standing on the pew so I could, you know, see the conductor, and I forget what sadcypress said -- oh!  because we had jumbled rehearsal tonight, which is one of like my favorite things ever, I couldn't hardly hear any other sopranos at all, I was surrounded by [good] altos and [mediocre] tenors -- but I said to her, Please, what can they take away from me?, I'm already not in either of the semichoirs, so all they can do is like keep me in at recess.  :-P  )

But then on the way to the Giant Morass of Rehearsal-Ending, because he wanted us all in a glomp for "Thanks be to God" (because he is crazy and doesn't care if we can see him, evidently?), R stopped me and said "Did I read your name?"

"No," says I.  "Did you mean to?"

"Yes, yes," he says.

"So I should stay."

"Please," he says.

Moral:  always wear your name tag, so the director can see your name and realize that he doesn't remember speaking it five minutes ago.  Can't you just see what would have happened next week?  "Where were you after rehearsal last week", he'd have said, and I'd have said "Um, you read a list of names, and I wasn't on it, boss."

Even that wasn't the final semichorus, though, so I'm not triumphant or anything quite yet.  There were five first sopranos, one second, two altos (both firsts or both seconds, I can't remember), and four or five men, of whom I know one was a tenor and two were basses, but I don't know about the other(s).  This is not a group that is prepared to sing eight parts.  I think we were people he decided he hadn't heard enough of last week.  At least I hope that's who we were.  Presumably we'll know the answer soonish.

sadcypress got a call at halftime to come try out for the A1 part in "Holy, holy", though.  Think good thoughts for her!